I've been selling a bunch of stuff and shipping media mail and 1st class. Everything has gone quite well and even the media mail packages are getting there quickly. Until now. I have one that has taken a week and then today, the day it had been scheduled for delivery, it switched from out for delivery to saying it was being held at the PO per customer request. I certainly didn't request this and found it odd that the buyer would've requested it while it was already out for delivery. So I look up the exact text and find the explanation. Since the latest hamstringing moves to the PO, if someone hasn't been able to deliver the mail before their shift ends, they mark it as being held per customer request and then deliver it the next day. Hopefully that's what happens and they didn't lose it like yours but today was the estimated delivery date given on Ebay. I also now have another package that has been "out for delivery" the past 12 hours. I might have to take a selling break if things are going to start getting iffy with shipping.
Another good USPS story. Had a CD sale here late Saturday afternoon. I took it to the PO late thinking I would not make the last pickup of the day. It did. And was delivered to NM today. FCM Portland OR to Albuquerque NM in less than 2 days.
Selected cities are worse than others when it comes to delays for USPS Media Mail and First Class. Chicago was the worst for me until recently, now it is Memphis and unfortunately most packages I ship from Little Rock go through Memphis. My latest problem: Tracking details USPS tracking #9449008205497356464582 Sep 29, 2020 2:10pm ARRIVE USPS FACILITY MEMPHIS, TN 38136 Sep 29, 2020 12:00am ARRIVE USPS FACILITY LITTLE ROCK, AR 72231 Sep 28, 2020 11:35pm ARRIVE USPS FACILITY LITTLE ROCK, AR 72231 Sep 28, 2020 11:10pm DEPART USPS FACILITY LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206 Sep 28, 2020 10:07pm DEPART USPS FACILITY LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206 Sep 28, 2020 7:27pm PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206 Sep 28, 2020 6:12pm ORIGIN ACCEPTANCE LITTLE ROCK, AR 72212 Sep 26, 2020 10:38pm PRE-SHIPMENT INFO SENT USPS AWAITS ITEM LITTLE ROCK, AR 72212 Sep 26, 2020 8:35pm SHIPPING LBL CREATED USPS AWAITS ITEM LITTLE ROCK, AR 72212 Sep 26, 2020 6:35pm Tracking number provided Stuck in Memphis 11 days so far or maybe it is somewhere else without being scanned. When I see this, it is almost always stuck in Memphis but eventually gets scanned and off to the next post office. This isn't unusual and I am grateful the buyer hasn't filed a claim yet. I am not a business seller, I sell about a dozen items a month and 3 or 4 packages are typically delayed at least a few days and 1 will look similar to that. I also buy a similar number online each month and see the same kind of results. A recent purchase from the classifieds here, stuck in Bedford, MA and/or Memphis, TN for three weeks: 9549010838910240534955 Tracking History September 21, 2020, 5:14 pm Delivered, Front Door/Porch LITTLE ROCK, AR 72212 Your item was delivered at the front door or porch at 5:14 pm on September 21, 2020 in LITTLE ROCK, AR 72212. September 21, 2020, 7:10 am Out for Delivery LITTLE ROCK, AR 72212 September 21, 2020, 5:05 am Arrived at Post Office LITTLE ROCK, AR 72211 September 20, 2020 In Transit to Next Facility September 18, 2020, 6:03 pm Departed USPS Regional Destination Facility MEMPHIS TN NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER September 18, 2020, 5:34 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility MEMPHIS TN NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER August 27, 2020, 5:09 pm Departed Post Office BEDFORD, MA 01730 August 27, 2020, 4:39 pm USPS in possession of item BEDFORD, MA 01730 Only a couple of packages have been lost the last year. What does the USPS do, look at the package and see it isn't important and put it back on the bottom of the pile for a couple more weeks?
Anecdotally, USPS mail has become even slower for me in the past few weeks. First class mail is slow and media mail is leagues worse. It's not going to get better soon either.
It's amazing to me to see folks talk about USPS in such disparaging terms. I must be the luckiest guy on earth. I've been buying and selling books and records for 16 years and in all that time have received and given zero complaints about USPS. Never a lost or damaged package. None. I'm a huge USPS fan. If they disappeared off the face of the earth, I would quit selling.
I agree completely! I have had more problems with the 2 large private shipping companies than I have ever had with USPS. I wonder if location has something to do with it. Here in the San Diego suburbs, USPS is extremely reliable.
I wondered about that as well only I have shipped to locations all across the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii and some overseas as well and have received items from far and wide. It amazes me to hear of some of the bad luck other folks have had. That's very unfortunate! My wife has been co-owner of a brick and mortar bookstore for 37 years and they have also done a great deal of shipping and receiving through USPS with very little in the way of problems- especially considering their longevity.
Fedex failed to deliver a package (with 3 meals from EveryPlate) the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with the reason. "No one home to accept delivery or business closed". Time stamp was 4:54pm. My security camera showed no truck passed by within an hour of that. It is a residence with no signature required, they alway just drop them off without even ringing the doorbell. Food was delivered (spoiled) on Friday. Not a fan of them right now either.
Yes, worse. Please understand that I worked for the PO - delivering, clerking - full-time, 90-day casual too (more than once as a casual). I helped move the mail. I love and admire the USPS. But in the last month, package delivery has gone haywire. I sit at my PC and use tracking and see packages sit . . . and sit . . . and sit. Had one arrive at a big station 20 miles east of here. Package left and traveled 50 further east. OK, a sample of one for that, but odd and not what I'm used to seeing from USPS package routing. Insiders could perhaps enlighten us. I suspect that the deJoy ultimatum to curtail overtime has a lot to do with this downturn in service. And, folks who doubt the downturn . . . I will tell you: The USPS downturn is real.
A local members sold me some cassette tapes last week. The expected delivery date was supposed to be this Thursday. Tracking number shows they will deliver today. So, I'm actually getting my stuff earlier than usual.
And also the numerous other steps taken to kneecap the USPS, ostensibly to "streamline" it and make it more efficient, but really focused on delaying delivery of ballots to and from voters. As was well documented, these steps also included removal and scrapping of mail sorting machines. In any other time, this egregious, corrupt behavior of a high level government employee would be investigated and the purp charged or, at least, fired. But as with so many other treasonous acts that have occurred over the past 4 years, these will likely be obscured by the sheer scale and extent of such corruption, and the enabling coming from sycophants on one side of the political spectrum. On the bright side, at least some of this BS will be coming to an end soon.
Yes, Fedex is generally far worse than the USPS for me. Latest - package sent from Upstate Michigan to me in Cleveland. Package was in Toledo on Wednesday and supposed to be here on Friday. Instead on Friday it was in Kansas City, Saturday - Boulder Colorado, today - somewhere in Nebraska.
Gonna say it one more time for the complainers out there...the Post Office only improves when you put the people who try to hogtie the Post Office, out of office. If you're still griping, you're not focusing on the issues behind the issues. So...when was the last time you had a friendly conversation about your postal problems with friends or relatives you have in Georgia...? Send them a Christmas card - with a Christmas stamp on it!
Apparently it takes almost 48 hours for a Priority Mail package to simply leave Philadelphia once it's been received there. These kinds of delays are understandable for Media Mail but for Priority Mail ??? I have packages delivered to my door from Hong Kong in less time via DHL. Code: December 3, 2020, 1:40 pm Departed USPS Regional Destination Facility PHILADELPHIA PA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER Your item departed our PHILADELPHIA PA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER destination facility on December 3, 2020 at 1:40 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination. December 3, 2020, 11:35 am Arrived at USPS Regional Facility PHILADELPHIA PA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER December 2, 2020 In Transit to Next Facility December 1, 2020, 5:00 pm Departed USPS Facility PHILADELPHIA, PA 19114 December 1, 2020, 4:08 pm Arrived at USPS Facility PHILADELPHIA, PA 19114
Fedex continues to impress. After having the package delivered back to Ohio after sending it on a tour of the US, about 45 min from my location, they've now sent it to just outside Columbus... Thursday , 12/03/2020 - GROVE CITY, OH, In transit Wednesday , 12/02/2020 3:56 pm -TWINSBURG, OH ,Departed FedEx location Tuesday , 12/01/2020 9:29 am - TWINSBURG, OH, At local FedEx facility Scheduled for delivery next business day Monday , 11/30/2020 9:12 pm - PERRYSBURG, OH, Departed FedEx location 9:59 am - HAMMOND, IN, In transit Sunday , 11/29/2020 9:49 pm - MILFORD, NE, In transit Saturday , 11/28/2020 1:25 pm - HENDERSON, CO, Arrived at FedEx location 8:29 am -BURLINGTON, CO, In transit Friday , 11/27/2020 9:23 pm - KANSAS CITY, MO, In transit 10:22 am -MAUMEE, OH, In transit 9:42 am - PERRYSBURG, OH, In transit Thursday , 11/26/2020 6:13 pm - PERRYSBURG, OH, In transit 1:06 am - OAK PARK, MI, Left FedEx origin facility Wednesday , 11/25/2020 9:02 pm -OAK PARK, MI, Arrived at FedEx location Tuesday , 11/24/2020 2:54 pm -Shipment information sent to FedEx
The USPS has been awful the past two weeks, as I see packages seemingly stalled in various locations and everything is arriving later than expected. In my experience, Denver is a particularly bad place for a package to have to travel through.
Dropped off a package at the post office collection box on 12/2 and it didn't get picked up until 12/5! They usually collect multiple times a day during the week so I'm not sure why it took them 3 days to collect it. Luckily my customer was understanding, but sheesh!
For the most part my orders have moved ok as a buyer and seller, though as a result of a recent Discogs purchase I’ve become aware of the notoriety of the Greensboro NC distribution center. Seller claims he shipped my LP on 11/25 but the shipping status remains in “Pre-shipment”. Seller went on to say there’ve been long standing performance issues there but that it’s gotten really bad over the past month or so. Coincidentally, it’s also where the PM General lives, according to the seller. The LP in limbo is a personal grail so, fingers crossed. Early on (last April) I sold a CD that got held up 40 miles from it’s destination for 6 WEEKS! Houston, I believe (we had a problem....).
As far as USPS, I'm assuming something similar to this is happening at most locations: It Appears There's a Huge Backlog at the Cleveland USPS Distribution Center Thanks to Covid
I've been purchasing and selling some records via eBay. Some Media mail, some priority. All with tracking. Right now I have 3 records I shipped that are already 7-10 days late. According to the tracking info, they have been received at various USPS locations and have an "arriving late" tag. I have two LP's coming to me...same thing. I have a few that were eventually delivered, one 15 days. I shipped a medium box with some photo gear I sold (insured, signature, etc).....Lost. I opened a case, got a call......nobody can find it. The tracking shows it leaving the USPS I shipped from. I went to talk to the local manager......of course....nothing. The NJ manager (where the package was heading) stated the COVID call ins are out of control. The USPS has a very loose absentee policy...so you add and excuse not to work, like covid, things get out of hand fast. I'm not certain how things are at UPS/Fedex. We have ordered a number of things (non eBay) and all the UPS/Fedex packages came on time so far. I may have to hold off on USPS for a couple of months.
I’ve had a few things show up super late recently and a couple showed up surprisingly early. Between covid and the usual uptick in packages around Christmas, the USPS is bombarded with packages right now. They’re also likely short-staffed as infection rates go up and up and people call out (as mentioned above). There’s nothing I mailordered that I need immediately, so I’m fine with waiting a bit longer. They’re under a lot of strain right now.